A little wishful inspiration, from long-time mostly-lurker Paul B:
This is the story of a pond I had installed in my back yard a few years back. I’ve always wanted a water feature and I finally got the chance when I realized that I was going to have to dig up my back yard anyway, at least if I actually wanted a back yard that warranted more than a shudder and a groan. It had been horribly neglected by the prior owner and it was mostly weeds and bare dirt, along with a cracked and pitted brick patio that had likely been there for a few decades.
So I dug up the bricks and the weeds, smoothed out the dirt, and contracted with a pond company in Redmond (I live in Seattle) to install a pond with a small stream. Once that was in, I worked with another contractor to install a patio that meshed with the pond. Everything else I did, mostly just making it up as I went, with multiple trips to my local garden center.
Picture 1: The bare yard on day 1, just before the began work.
Picture 2: The end of day 2. The rectangular stone-ish thing in the foreground covers the hole where the pump is located. You can see a hint of the hose snaking around the pond leading to the small hill they built for me that contains the filter material and that will serve as the top of the stream, where the water will come out. The stream is roughly 10’ long and the pond is about 20’ x 10’.
Picture 3: The end of day 3. The pump is in, the pond filled, a footbridge installed, and a gravel and stone edge has been added. The three small contraptions on the left edge of the pond are motion-detector “scarecrows,” hooked to my water supply, with the idea that if a raccoon or heron wants to grab the fish that I will be adding to the pond, the motion will set off the scarecrow, which will respond with a blast of water. Sadly, they really didn’t work very well, and the pond basically became a larder, mostly for the neighborhood raccoons.
Picture 4: Another view. The dirt in the pond hasn’t settled yet. The various plants in the pond were installed by the contractor. A mixture of irises, cattails, water lilies (which haven’t surfaced yet and aren’t visible in the murky water), and others.
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Water FeaturePost + Comments (44)